I found myself smiling again the other day while scanning a couple of letters from readers clearly of a particular political persuasion who want to believe I'm the "right-wing nutjob" they insist I must be.
Such derogatory correspondence reminds me it's probably time for another column about what I actually believe. After all, those who follow these words deserve to know straight from the plowhorse's own mouth.
I always have (still do) seen myself as a populist whose foremost interests and concerns lie with the interests of ordinary folks.
As such, I try to provide a disproportionate public voice to people and places who are likely never to have one. Those can include a family whose daughter's murder was covered up, the convicted innocent, a national river, the disabled, those who get an unfair shake in society, as well as abused, hungry and neglected children, elderly citizens and veterans.
Some folks find it much easier in their own attempts at understanding my beliefs to throw out a catch-all smear label. Those always make me grin. Truth is that, like fellow human animals, I'm too complex in my reasoning and feelings to goose-step with any political group controlled by special-interest money.
In some ways I'm definitely conservative in my views, probably the result of common-sense conditioning. For instance, I believe there's a God who blessed this nation from its inception, in personal responsibility, in living within one's means and in cherishing the Constitution that provides the basis for the greatest nation rooted in personal liberties to exist on our planet. I also cherish the sanctity of all life and in limiting every unnecessary government control over our individual liberties and freedom of choice.
For me, definite geographical boundaries are essential to our status as a nation and our defense. A strong, effective military also is all that sustains our freedom.
At the same time, I'm sympathetic with the plights of the less fortunate, the disadvantaged and the mentally and physically impaired who truly need assistance of the able-bodied and compassionate among us.
I believe in letting others live as they choose in freedom and within the law. I've never wanted to own another or pass judgment on their personal life choices (unless they are hypocritical public servants). I figure the judgment thing is invariably sorted out in the larger scheme of a mystical universe.
It's also natural for me when I discover positive things happening to shed light on those aspects. Mixing positive with the negative presents a far more accurate picture of reality. The kiss of death for me as a columnist writing for readers of all beliefs is to repeatedly drone on in predictable fashion.
My father drilled it into me that character and integrity matter a great deal in our lives together. Perhaps yours did too. If we can't rely on each other's word, the fabric of a society erected on trust cannot possibly hold over time.
I can't stomach public officials who are caught lying, cheating and stealing from us. Too many self-servers today have forgotten they are elected to serve us rather than the other way around, or to serve purely the selfish interests of one political party. I deeply lament the loss of trust that pervades society today because of the flagrant falsehoods and corrupt practices being revealed from the very highest office and flowing downward into our communities. You see the same ugly things I do.
I feel shame over media colleagues who use their positions of public trust to cover up for and promote members of one political party at the expense of reporting the fullest obtainable versions of truth. What I see too much of nowadays are more PR agents posing as journalists for a select group of self-seeking politicians. They pretend to report the fullest possible truths, rather than being impartial watchdogs in the public interest.
Throughout my career, I've messed up any number of times. Things I believed true when I wrote them sometimes turned out differently as fuller facts become available down the line. The issue then became did I remain silent and try to continue making black appear white, or admit I was mistaken. In this business those painful retractions are known as skinbacks. I've skinned my knee a few times over 43 years.
Finally, I hope it's clear to readers that I am not an objective newsgatherer or a journalist in that sense. I write columns, which means I express my personal opinions on matters I see as interesting or relevant to valued readers. So it's a false argument to say I fail to live up to the standards of neutral newsgathering when that's no longer what I do, and haven't for years now.
OK, this right-wing nutjob is all done for now. I have a strange feeling I'll be repeating myself again in another year or so.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 11/23/2014